The Twilight Brigade
by Azrael DarkWings
Summary: After the events of the End War between heaven and hell a unique Guild-Unit was born under the control of the new Fiore Kingdom's rule. The courage, sacrifice and hardships of that guild will challenge any threat both to themselves and to the innocent lives they have been charged with. Let the curtain rise on this fantasy of man and monster! SYOC (Currently Re/Taking Guild Members)
1. Chapter 1: The Everyday

Fairy Tail: Aftermath

The End War had come when no one had thought it would and had left just as quickly. In the space of three short months the world of Earthland had been laid to waste by forces beyond the scope of any person's wildest nightmare or delusions. With a heavenly fanfare the armies of the gods descended from the skies and did battle with the armies of the underworld. Caught in the middle were the mortals, both magician and non-magician alike, who by the end of the three month period had their number reduced by a third for the magicians and a half of the non-magicians fell against the impossible odds.

After the gods had ascended back to their realms above man beast, and the demon, devils and monsters had receded back into their lairs to lick their wounds, those who had survived the devastation found themselves in an equally hopeless scenario compared to the war; their former homes and lands were by and large scorched beyond recovery, and thus they were unable to generate enough food to feed the mouths that remained. As such, many turned to more violent means to gather their bread, meat and water, and pillaging and plundering exploded between the survivors who only a short time before had fought side by side for survival, now killed one another over the smallest amounts of clean water and food.

Yet even in the midst of the darkest times, hope still remained. Rumors reached many ears that in the former territory of Fiore a powerful wizard who could command the four elements had risen up and had been crowned king by several others who then declared the formation of a new nation under the Mage-King. Many flocked to the territory of old Fiore to swear their loyalty to the new king in order to gain protection and whatever measure of security they could.

Although many believed that the peace and prosperity brought about by the Mage-King would either fail with his death or shortly afterwards, the kingdom survived the death of the First Mage-King, and then for the next two beyond him. As the kingdom continued to prosper and expand, the former disbelievers arrived at the terrifying realization that they had been wrong. Now those who had not moved in during the first King's reign in order to conquer and divide it between themselves found that the kingdom was now stable enough to withstand their intentions, and they would be taught during the course of the First and Second Attempted Conquests of the Kingdom, N.R.Y. X146-X148 and N.R.Y. X153-X156 respectively. Both times they were repulsed by the now firmly established Legal Magician Guilds and the Royal Army and suffered extensive, irreparable casualties. Afterwards the Kingdom continued to work to restore the land within its borders and to expand when the need arose.

Chapter 1: The Everyday

June 17th, X162 N.R.Y.(New Royal Year): 8:36 a.m.

New Fiore Kingdom, Old Magnolia District

Asher Becket turned over with a sharp grunt as one of his scattered tools jabbed him in the small of the back. The dirty blond haired thirty-six year old awoke with a scowl on his face as he reached for the offending implement, his dark green eyes filled with a mixture of frustration and sleep deprivation. "Which one of you pieces of scrap did that?" he asked the tools as he bent himself sharply backwards in order to grab ahold of the offender. "Which one of you blasted-"

"Morning Ash." The sudden words caused Becket to sit bolt upright, straight into the underside of the magic engine he had fallen asleep beneath. The impact was painful, and drew a long stream of unintelligible curses and oaths from Becket, who bounced back from the impact and smacked back into the ground to boot.

"Blast it Arwyn," Becket growled as he carefully shifted himself out from underneath the partially reassembled magic engine and looked up to the white haired young man who stood in the doorway of his workshop/living quarters, "don't sneak up on people like that." The younger man grinned as he removed something from the inside of his blue and white uniform coat.

"Sorry," he said as he lightly flicked a silver wrapped meal block over to Asher, "but Aria asked me to get you." The woman's name snapped Asher's mind into perfect clarity, and he had already moved next to Arwyn and the meal bar had already vanished into his mouth with not even a crumb left to stick to his five-o'clock shadow. With a snap of his wrist the empty wrapper sailed into the recycle bin and then he was at the door, his head half turned to deliver a quip as he took off towards the two story slate colored building a short distance away.

"C'mon Arwyn, you don't want to keep our Guild Leader waiting do you?" The younger man smiled faintly as he followed after Asher with his own quick, smooth gait.

"Yessir."

—

On the second floor of the grey and blue guild building Aria S.A. Weissbach sat down heavily in her well worn, high backed leather chair as she stared down at the stack of papers on her desk, her dark red eyes filled with a mixture of frustration and resignation.

"We've been operating at capacity for the last four months but we're still having issues in the area..." Aria sighed as she ran her fingers through her long silver, grey hair that ran down to just past her shoulder blades. "The most pressing problems are with the bandits around the northern caravan routes, but besides that we still have Asher working on getting the train's systems up and running again... On top of that we need to get some new members into the unit in order to expand our focus and also to meet regimental standards..." Aria paused and closed her eyes for a moment, as she began to massage her forehead. Then she snapped, and with a roar of, "DAMMIT ALL!" she leapt onto her desk and blew all of the papers into the air with a savage kick. "SCREW CENTRAL AND THEIR REGULATIONS! DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO RUN THIS GUILD?! CAN ANY SINGLE DESK JOCKEY IN THE FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO COVER THE EXPENSES THAT IT TAKES TO OPERATE OUT HERE IN THE GODFORSAKEN WASTELAND?!"

"Calm down, Leader, we're going to get compliants from the neighbors again if you keep exploding like that every time the papers stack up; however formidable and asinine they may be." The calm, gentle words instantly evaporated Aria's anger as their speaker, Arwyn Karengard, entered the office room slowly, followed closely by a visibly nervous Asher Becket. With a faint smile at the corners of his mouth Arwyn went down on one knee and began to pick up and reorganize the papers.

"Arwyn said that you wanted to see me, Guild Master?" Aria nodded and motioned for Asher to take the paper covered chair that was positioned in front of her desk. Asher took the seat, after he had gathered up and then shifted the papers to Arwyn's hands.

"If this is about the magic train engine, Master, I'm sorry but I'm going to need at least-" Aria held up a gloved hand to stop her Support Chief could continue.

"This isn't about the engine, Becket. Although I'm glad you're making any kind of progress, after what those ingrates over in Central managed to bungle with it." Becket grinned at the compliment as Aria continued, "but this is more so about the budget you submitted to me last week." Aria reached down and removed a moderately thick folder from one of the drawers of her desk. "You've given me what I believe to be your unbiased, and unpadded I might add, estimate on what it should take to keep this place running for the last half of this year," she opened the file as she spoke, and came to stop on one entry in particular that had earlier caught her interest, "but I'm afraid that we will not be able to increase your rate." Asher sighed in time with Aria and Arwyn, as all three of them knew what the next words out of Aria's mouth would be. "If anything, Central Command would be most overjoyed if you, myself and even Arwyn would take pay cuts at this time, in order to 'streamline' our expenses and to 'save the Kingdom' even one copper more."

"Sounds like someone would rather tell Command to take their coppers and shove them where the sun doesn't shine, I take it." The blithe words were laced with sarcasm as Arwyn pulled the last of the papers together and then returned them to Aria's desk, which drew a rueful look from the silver haired woman woman.

"Thank you, Arwyn, and you're right, I would like to tell off those bean counters from Central. But," Aria agreed as she turned her eyes over to the haggard, grease stained, and yet still presentable Asher, "I'm truly sorry Ash, but unless this guild of ours either finds an unlooted supply cache from the war or takes in some massive bounties soon, I will not be able to raise your salary by even half a copper." Asher sighed as he looked down at his greasy, soot stained black coveralls.

"I'm grateful for the sentiment Master," the man said as he pulled himself slowly to his feet. As he stood he reached into one of the many pockets to his coveralls and gently removed a well worn silver watch with the image of eagle on the face cover. "Seeing as how one meal block isn't anywhere near enough for a working man's breakfast, I'll be headed over to Nina's for a slightly belated breakfast." Asher turned after a smart, but quick, salute before he vanished from the office with as much noise as puff of smoke.

"So how are things really looking, Aria?" Arwyn's question was soft yet firm, and Aria groaned as she sprawled back into her chair. "Come on Aria, I have a right to know how we're doing don't I? Or is my title just for show?" The silver haired woman fixed her dark red eyes on Arwyn's uniformed figure.

At 6 feet and four inches, Arwyn cut an impressive, yet not overly imposing figure. His stark white hair that fell just past his shoulders framed and equally fair skinned face and a pair of dark blue eyes. His clothing consisted of his white and blue uniform jacket with the guild's emblem over his left breast, a white full helm with three pairs of wings that symmetrically descended down the sides of the helm. To match Arwyn also wore a pair of white and blue uniform pants, along with a pair of black dress gloves. On his feet were a pair of black cavalry style boots into which his pants were tucked. The perfect image of the kind of soldier that Central Command wanted. But inside of that image was a young man whose skills were far removed from that image, which was why he had been assigned to the old Magnolia Outpost, where para-military corrective action and defense force Guild-Unit 762, better known as the Twilight Brigade, was stationed.

In comparison Aria's own attire consisted of a dark blue tracksuit with two stage zip off sleeves, the first at the elbows and the second at the shoulders. Her feet were bare, but under her desk lay her knee high boots with her socks hung over the edges. She had removed her white dress gloves earlier in order to keep them neat, and she had laid them on top of one of the heavy ledgers that she had put off since the week before, unready to look at the painful figures she knew they were filled with.

"Is there anything you need me to get you, Aria? Something to wake you up, perhaps?" The weary Guild Leader sighed as she massaged her temples as she thought about the offer.

"Some coffee would be wonderful," she eventually said, as Arwyn moved towards the door. "With a little sugar, if it's in stock." The young man smiled fairly at the nearly inaudible addition.

"Roger that, Leader."

—

Honest Ogre's Market, Old Magnolia Proper. 11:12 a.m.

"The former Twilight Ogre Guild, a small time outfit that had made somewhat of a name for themselves as troublemakers and thugs for hire, had been demolished twice, once during the War by a random potshot from a heavy artillery battery,and the second time during the Twilight Brigade's initial clean up of the area. Afterwards the few members of the small time guild that had not been either imprisoned or ejected from the region started a small hardware emporium and blacksmith shop. In the years that followed a small hub had developed around the two shops which now accounted for a majority of the daily grocery and necessity shopping in the area. Between the fair prices and the relative proximity to the sheriff's station the area had become a center of commerce New Magnolia... okay, but where do I go if I'm trying to find my way out of this place?" The question was both rhetorical and serious, as Sana Swift looked down at the crudely drawn map she had carried with her for the past three months.

"Seriously, if I had known that the train system was down I would have waited for that munitions caravan from Crocus to be ready. But no, I decided to make my way here on foot... alright Sana, next time we'll wait before acting and save ourselves the pain of walking for three months without a proper pair of shoes, okay?" She said to herself, as she looked down at her bandage wrapped feet ruefully. "Just because I have the ability to use Take-Over Magic doesn't mean that I have to use it." Sana sighed as she put the map into the back pocket of her thread bare, heavily traveled in pants as she made her way over to a nearby booth that advertised, 'Fresh Kebabs'. The twenty-six year old woman allowed the urge to retort pass unmolested.

"What can I do for you, young lady?" The middle aged stall tender asked presently as Sana came close. "Care for some of my wares?"

"I'm honestly tempted, but I can't spare the money right now," Sana replied, as she felt her resolve waver in the face of the meat as it cooked. The older man smiled kindly as he assembled a kebab and then passed it to the younger woman.

"Have one on the house then for now, and come back with some friends sometime in return." The man's generosity was completely unexpected and Sana almost refused out of pride, but the smell of the meat broke her and she meekly accepted the skewer.

"Arigato," Sana said quietly.

"Eastern decent?" The older man asked, which startled Sana enough to almost drop the food.

"No, I'm a half. My mother was from Fiore, but my father was from the East," Sana explained, as she bit into the lightly seasoned meats. "Father cane to the West in order to find a stable place to live, and he then fell in love with my mother who was born in a small town a few days travel north of Crocus." The older man turned back to his meats as Sana spoke, and after he had turned several of the skewers over he turned back to Sana with a puzzled look on his face.

"So what brings you to a town like Magnolia? It isn't exactly exciting here unless you want to the occasional bandit raid or monster drive, and we don't boast the best security wise either. Those days were generations ago, and I can honestly say that most kids around here have been raised on the tales of Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus and Sabertooth." Sana smiled faintly as the names of the former great guilds of Fiore came from the old man's mouth. "There's only one registered Guild in this region, and that one's a horse of a different color in a manner of speak-"

"Wait a moment," Sana interjected before the stall keeper could finish his sentence, "would that guild happen to be the Twilight Brigade?" The older man felt moderately miffed due to the girl's sudden interjection, but he took it in stride easily enough to reply cordially.

"Yes young lady, the very same. Also known as para-military corrective action and defense force Guild-Unit 762." Dana's eyes sparkled with energy as she slammed her hands down into the the wooden counter top of the stall with a boom that resounded through the area.

"Do you think that you could give me directions to the Guild Station please? I've been lost looking for it since sunup." The older man felt a wave of surprise wash over him as he almost visibly sweat dropped. He then sighed and snapped his fingers to summon a small, dark green magic screen.

"Yes, just give me a moment, young lady," he said as he swiftly tapped several keys on the screen in rapid succession before a single sheet of heavy paper materialized in front of Sana with a sharp bamph. "Here you go, this should help you find what you'r-"

"Thankyouverymuchandgoodbyehaveaniceday!" Sana has already vanished with a large billow of dust as the only mark that she had been in the area at all. The old man sighed once again as he began to tend to his skewers once again, when he realized that Sana had left him with exact change for the food without him having noticed.

'I guess she can't be that bad of a girl if she pays for something like that. But I wonder,' the man thought to himself as he removed half of the skewers and began to replace them with fresh ones, 'why would a girl like that be looking for a Guild-Unit all the way out here?'

—

A/N: Hello folks, after going underground due to the joys of factory labor, and getting a secondary job as a lifeguard, I, Azrael DarkWings, have returned to life! Man, it had been a while since I even had enough time to boot up my computer to come to this site, but I digress. This is the first chapter of my newest work, titularly named after the main force of this story: the Twilight Brigade.

Now I'm going to be handling things this time a little differently then before, and a few ground rules will be needed and some minor spoilers given in order for the character submissions.

First and foremost, please do not send in any magicians who use one of the four basic elements as their main magic: no fire, water, earth or wind magics. Those four elements are exclusively to be used by the four Elemental Earls, who stand just beneath the Mage-King in the hierarchy of the world I'm working with.

Secondly, please do not send in any OCs who use the same magic or magics that are used by characters in the original Fairy Tail works, except for things similar to Telepathy or Archive; as those magics to an extent could be noted as general magics that seem acceptable for mass use. So no Fire Dragon Slayers, no Ice Make Mages and no Take-Over Satan Soul people.

Thirdly, please fill out the character sheet that I will be putting on my profile page shortly as much as possible. That will make it easier to understand what I'm working with, and it will cut down, hopefully, on the amount of PM tag that will inevitably occur due to the nature of such things. Please also note that I would be most grateful if everyone sends in their character/s via PM, as I don't want to have another 'fun' scenario where I have to play tag with a guest reader who sends in a decent character.

Fourth, I hold my right to turn down a character if I think that it is not up to par, too Over Powered or simply too far out in left field for me to get a handle on. This is in no way meaning that I enjoy saying no to people or even because I want to be rude, but is simply due to me wanting to cut down on an area of potential problems and work that I just do not want to deal with.

Fifth and finally, the main guild in this story was addressed in universe as a Guild-Unit. Add to that the smattering of military jargon and I think you folks can get a fairly reasonable assumption put together as to the nature of the guild. The guild is connected to the New Fiore Kingdom Royal Army, albeit not entirely not officially, and there are several reasons for that, but you'll get to read about that later. As such, I'd like to have a little diversity in the characters in a little different way: some characters who come from either a stable home or military career, and some characters who come in as typical mage guild recruits or have lived out in the waste regions of Fiore, which while shrinking are still present and dangerous. Part of the story this time will deal with conflicts within the guild itself around these and other present elements.

To close I'll add a few more quick explanations to how the guild is put together to help divert certain characters towards certain areas. Aria's position as Guild Leader is the term used for the military side of her organization, and as Asher calls her Master she functions the same as Makarov in the sense that she in the superior officer on staff and as such is the highest authority on site.

Asher is more so in a capacity of a civilian contractor who runs the joint motor pool and maintenance division, and as such he isn't fully under Aria's command. On a quick side note Asher also balances the budget for the unit in order to help out Aria, and he is clean and forward in his methods. He receives a salary instead of doing jobs for pay, and he is the closest thing to pacifist in his confrontation methods that I have so far.

Now for Arwyn, whose position is as Aria's special adviser and also an S-Class equivalent. He acts on the day to day operations and also acts as one of the frontline fighters for the guild as needed, although he has a few restrictions that can only be lifted by someone higher in authority.

I'll explain Sana when the time comes, so I'll leave her alone for now.

Now I understand that's a lot of info, some of which is fairly revealing, but I wanted to give everyone a clearer picture in order to help narrow down who and what I'm looking for this time around. The next chapter should be up by either the end of this month or the early part of December. So until then, the is Azrael DarkWings signing off folks. See you on the front lines.


	2. Chapter 2: Delicate Maneuvers

Chapter 2: Delicate Maneuvers

* * *

Twilight Brigade Station/Guild Hall

June 17, X162 N.R.Y.

12:31 p.m.

* * *

The guild hall that stood before Sana Swift was by no means impressive, but at the same time she could not find any way to say that it lacked in its capacity. The building stood just over two stories tall and stood apart from any other buildings save for a single, slightly distanced outbuilding that looked to be some sort of shed or garage used for maintenance and possibly storage. Sana looked down at herself and sighed, as her own appearance matched the guild hall's, more functionality over appearances. Besides her worn trousers Sana wore a heavy, off white shirt that hung loosely from her slender frame and was cut off at the elbows, which were covered the rest of the way by well maintained bandages. The same kind of bandages wrapped around her feet and legs up to the middle of her thighs which acted in place of shoes for the young woman, as her particular brand of Take-Over Magic was neither well refined or, as she put it, dignified. With a sigh of resignation the young woman moved up to the sturdy, reinforced double doors that lead into the guild hall which when she laid her hands on it opened suddenly inwards. Sana yelped in surprise and fell flat on her rear as a lithely built figure exited the building.

"Sorry 'bout that ma'am," the figure said in a slightly high, masculine voice as he offered Sana a hand up, which she accepted. "You okay?" The follow up question was delivered as Sana regained her balance.

"Yes, thank you, young man," Sana said as she studied the young person's androgynous face. The figure stood just slightly taller then Sana's own 5'5" at about 5'6", and was dressed in a long sleeved black shirt with a pair of military camouflage sweatpants and a pair of black combat boots. The eyes were a deep shade of red, while irises and pupils were less rounded and more vertically slitted. While the hair was a fiery red and was mostly gathered back behind his head into a short pony tail, and the skin was a light brown that marked him as someone who came from a more waste heavy area. "Or is it young woman? Your face looks like it could go either way, if you don't mind me saying so." A brief flicker passed over the young person's face before they answered.

"No offense taken ma'am, my father used to say that I took more after my mother more then him in more ways then the average person." The young man extended his right hand to Sana politely, "the name's Jack, Jack Ramona."

"Sana Swift at your service, Ramona-San." Jack raised an eyebrow at Sana's choice of words as they shook hands.

"Eastern honorifics?" he asked in mild surprise.

"I'm sorry, it's an old habit that I got from my father; he was from the East but my mother was born in Cro-" Jack held up his hand to stop Sana's verbal backpedaling.

"No problems, just kind of surprised that's all. You don't here that many people using honorifics these days unless they're either form the Eastern wastes or from the Crimson District." Jack noticed that Sana winced if ever so slightly at his reference to the largest pleasure caravan that roamed the edges of Fiore's borders in search of customers to peddle their particular set of wares and services too.

"I know, and that's why I'm trying to keep them out of my speech. There are not that many people who would want to deal with anyone from the Crimson District, especially seeing as how all of the rumors of them being slave traders and drug dealers are so common these days..." Sana looked into Jack's face and put her hands together pleadingly as she begged, "Could you please not tell anyone about my slip?" Jack looked Sana evenly in the eyes before he laughed, and Sana felt her defenses kick in as he did so. "What's so funny?" Jack took a moment to stop his laughter before he responded.

"I think you'll understand better after you meet some of the other guild members, Miss Swift. We're decent people here on the whole, and I doubt anyone's going to give you too much of a hard time about where you're from." Jack started to walk once again away from the building with a steady, measured stride. "It doesn't matter where you come from here, what matters is how you conduct yourself while you're a member of the guild. Just head in in and take a look for yourself." As Jack continued to walk away, Sana noted the short spear that was slung across his back in a leather holder. While fairly plain at first glance, Sana could tell that not only was the weapon well maintained but it was also used just as heavily.

'Interesting that any formal unit would allow their members to use personal weapons instead of standard issued ones, but I guess that goes to show that this really is a hybrid outfit...' Sana though to herself as she looked at the doors again. "I'll just hope nobody else comes through and knocks me over again, although that young man was very polite even after I asked him that kind of a question..." Sana shrugged her shoulders, which caused her blonde hair to shift with her movements as she placed her hands to the doors. After she had closed her purple eyes and silently whispered a quick prayer to her patron, she pushed the doors inward and stepped into the guild hall with a question on her lips, "So who do I need to talk to to get my registration papers filled out?"

* * *

Twilight Brigade Maintenance Building

1:56 p.m.

* * *

Asher pulled his 5'11" frame out from underneath the magic-train engine with a grunt, and after he had grabbed a hold of the edge of one of the many workbenches in the room he lifted him smelt from the flood with minimal effort. As he surveyed the extent of the repairs he had accomplished so far he sighed heavily and then pulled a flask out of one of the many side pockets to his coveralls. "Those jacks over in Central really cut my work out for me, didn't they?" He said to no one in particular as he took a long swig from the flask. While he normally held off on his drink until work was done, he knew that the task before him would take longer then usual; and he would not allow himself more then just the one quickie every once in a while in these scenarios.

"Drinking on duty? That's a rare sight for you, Becket." Asher turned to find that while he had had his back turned to the doors, the Jack Ramona had entered the room and had taken a place again the wall for a short time. The older man grunted and motioned for Jack to come over to one of the many work stations in the room.

"I take it you're here for the usual maintenance for that spear of yours?" Jack nodded his confirmation and the unslung the spear from its scabbard and then handed the weapon over to Asher handle first. As Asher accepted the weapon he closed his left eye and then drew up his magic as he quietly intoned his spell, "Full Scan, Active Search." A red magic crest briefly flashed over Asher's right eye as he spoke, and then a number of bright red panels appeared around Asher as his Archive Magic started to run its course.

Jack watched Asher with an even stare as Asher performed his now ritualistic maintainable on the short spear. When Jack had first arrived in the guild, on a recommendation from his father Jakob Ramona, he had found an interest in the quiet, level headed Becket whose professionalism and workmanship had impressed him. Jack mostly kept to himself for the first two months of his assignment to the Brigade, but the constant interactions with Becket has proven to be one of the few things he looked forward to after a mission.

"So what did you do this time, Jack? Another extermination mission in Blue Acres?" The farming section of the Magnolia district was one of the only fertile areas in the region big enough to support any large scale food production. As such the area always turned out plenty of pest control and raider defense jobs that were a stable source of income for anyone with even a passing level of combat ability, although any infestation level events and any possibly large scale raids immediately fell under the jurisdiction of the Royal Army post in the town, quartered in and around the restored Kardia Cathedral, and to the Twilight Brigade.

"Did I miss any spots when I cleaned her?" The younger man asked as Asher completed his scan. The older man nodded his head and then opened up another Archive screen which he then turned to Jack.

"I found a few traces of blood and ichor on the head, but I also found a few divots along the shaft," Asher said as looked back at the own screen. "Something bite onto it?" Jack nodded before he responded.

"One of the mutts came at me faster then I expected, thankfully I was able to put up a barrier in time to protect myself. Unfortunately in that moment I diverted my attention away from the first one another one turned out to be less dead then I expected, which then proceeded to clamp onto the shaft and almost wrenched it away from me." Jack sheepishly scratched the back of his head as he spoke, as Asher sighed in resignation at his younger guild member's words.

"You really should start working with others more often, Jack. Most people in that kind of a scenario don't make it out unscathed, especially when they're alone." Jack shook his head at Asher's words, and then his fixed his own red eyes on Asher's.

"I want to be able to stand on my own two feet, like my father did during the wars." Asher's eyes narrowed slightly at the words, but decided to not force the issue. He then proceeded to place the short spear on a nearby anvil and then moved to select one of the nearby ingots of various metals that he used in most of his work. "Would you mind if I watched?" Jack asked as he did so, to which Asher grunted his acceptance and then began to work on the repairs to the spear; and Jack took a seat quietly and watched the older man work his magic, both literally and figuratively.

* * *

Twilight Brigade Canteen and Bar, First Floor.

7:15 p.m.

* * *

The sun had just begun to set as the dishes were cleared away from the tables in the guild hall's canteen as Alan Black stepped through the double doors and onto the worn floorboards. The twenty-five year old man stood still for a moment as he scanned the room to see who was around. As he looked down the line of the bar through the assorted members of the guild-unit's forty-five man platoon that was always partly or fully deployed on routine patrols around Magnolia. As he did so, Alan's eyes fell on blonde haired woman he didn't recognize. With a rakish grin he swept forward and took the seat beside the woman and popped a corny, yet surprisingly effective, pickup line, "Hey beautiful, where have you been all my life?"

"W-w-what?!" Sana sputtered in response as the drink she had just taken went down the wrong pipe. She coughed for a few second and then pulled herself together to turn and face the light brown haired man who had suddenly appeared beside her. "Do I know you, sir?" The roguish grin on the man's face made Sana more then a little nervous, and she felt herself instinctively clutch her dinner knife tighter. Then the devious face split into wider, and slightly softer, smile as the man turned to the barkeeper and order a late meal.

"Whatever you've got left along with a local brew, Arnold, and make it a double if you can; I'm starving over here," he cast a measured gaze over Sana as he spoke, "in more ways then one." Sana blushed at the implications in Alan's words but regained her composure enough to question the man.

"My name is Sana Swift, and I'm a new member of Guild-Unit 762 as of this afternoon." She held out a hand to the man before her as she continued, "and I have the... pleasure of addressing Mr?"

"Black, Alan Black at your service, ma'am," Alan said as he took Sana's hand and shook firmly, which Sana returned in kind, "and the pleasure is most sincerely mine. Especially with a beauty such as yourself." Sana has met her fair share of playboys and would be suitors in her life, but Alan came off weirdly even compared to most of them. She took in his appearance, from his light brown, neck length hair and moderately thick chin stubble that could pass as a beard of the same color, as well as his round, oddly friendly, hazel eyes. He was dressed in a black trench coat that was open to reveal the white, button up collared shirt beneath that stood out against his lightly tanned skin. Besides that he wore a pair of light brown pants, as well as a pair of black leather shoes that were clean and well cared for. Sana looked Alan in the face again after she had finished, and she could tell that Alan had done the same to her, as she felt more conscious then normal about her own, somewhat shoddy, manner of dress.

"I'm flattered, , but I must go now. First Officer Karengard said that he would show me to my sleeping quarters at tonight, and I'm afraid that it is almost time for me to meet him, as such we must part here." But as Sana rose to go Alan caught her hand as she did and stopped her, gently but firmly.

"Oh come on, we've just started to know each other, and I'm sure that Karengard won't mind if you're a few minutes la-yeeouch!" Alan's words were cut off sharply as he suddenly felt a vice grip-like pinch burned through his body and he released Sana's hand and shed his black trench coat all in one motion as he created some distance between himself and the newest figure that had simply seemed to appear out of nowhere at the bar.

"Don't tease the new recruit so much Alan, otherwise she's going to take off before she even settles in." The low, sultry voice caused every heart nearby to shiver yet flutter at the same time, as a woman who towered a good five inches above Alan's 6' frame dropped the man's trench coat on top of the stool he had just been seated on. The playfulness he had shown earlier was now replaced by a sharp, yet not entirely hostile, glare up and into the woman's golden amber colored eyes.

"So you're already back are ya, Midas?" The words were drenched in sarcasm, and Sana realized that she had already moved back several inches without having even noticed it. The warm, mocha skinned woman allowed herself a playful smile as she looked down on Alan. Sana could have sworn that she saw the images of a wolf and a scorpion appear behind the two figures as they stared each other down.

"That's right, Ghost, I'm back. Just in time it seems to keep you from trying to sink your fangs into a new girl it seems." The woman looked over at Sana and gave her a playful smile, "Although I can't say that you have poor taste, you should really learn to keep it professional in public, dear." The word dear sounded both sweet and bitter to Sana's ears, and Alan openly grimaced painfully as Arnold arrived to place his plate for him.

"A double round of potatoes, beans and beef, along with a bottle of locally brewed Blackthorn Beer." Arnold turned his head to face the woman, called Midas, and a smile broke across his weather face as he spoke, "And what can I get for you Carina?" The tan woman's face softened before the older man's words, and she took the seat to the right of Sana's former one before she answer politely.

"I'll have the chicken salad with vegetables, and something light to go with it Arnold, and do surprise me please, I could use something nice after a day like this." She sat upright and poised, and for a moment Sana felt her heart flutter. Carina looked incredibly beautiful, as if an angel had come into the bar without anyone having noticed. With her pale blue head scarf, long sleeved chiffon blouse, dark brown short shorts and light blue high heals, Carina cut a figure which stunned many a man in their tracks, and even a good number of woman.

All of that seemed lost to Alan however, who merely grunted roughly and sat down to eat his meal, his attempted something with Sana left alone, while Sana moved closer to Carina and stuttered out her thanks.

"A-Arigato," she said in a low voice as she slipped away from the bar, which caused Carina to follow her with her golden amber eyes. The S-Class magician watched the younger woman's form retreat into the guild members only area of the guild hall. Two seats to her left, Alan took a large bite of his roast and then looked over at Carina, a half way baleful look in his hazel eyes.

"Why'd you do that, Carina? I wasn't going to try anything on her, at least not yet." He held his ground when Carina turned back to him and fixed him with a harsh look of her own.

"'Not yet' you say do you?" She slid her stool closer to Alan's with both her eyes and tone filled with menace as she continued, "So when were you going to try and work you way into her good graces then? After you made her come to you first? So you'd have the deniability that she started things and not you?" Alan's face grew red as he took a long swig of his beer before he fired off his retort.

"Now look here Carina just because you and I have some bad blood between us doesn't mean you can swing things that kind of way with me, and I'm not that much of a scumbag; even you have to admit that." Carina's eyes softened slightly as Arnold came closer to her with her meal, unperturbed by the spat that the S-Class and A-Class were currently engaged in.

"Now now you two, don't go after each other like that or you'll spoil your meals; and I'd rather not have any of our rations go to waste, seeing as how Master Aria's has just tightened up our budget again." Both mages registered a take at the words and wheeled around to face Arnold in perfect sync and asked the same question in almost the same breath.

""Tightening the budget?!"" Arnold simply nodded his head and then leaned forward to whisper to the two mages in conspiratorial whisper.

"I think that Master Aria will be bringing it up at the next meeting, but for now it seems like the Brigade has received an official request from Central Command to cut back on any expenses that are unnecessary or over inflated." The two mages felt their anger rise in tandem as Alan clenched and unclenched his hands while Carina began to tap the top of the bar with a constant rhythm. Arnold could see that the two had forgotten, at least temporarily, about their own conflict and were now focused on the monetary issues that had plagued the guild for the past few years. With a sly smile he refreshed the pair's drinks and then moved off, but not before he left one last tidbit for them to mull over. "It seems like Central will be sending an auditor down to us from Crocus in September, so we have some time to balance the books as it were."

After Arnold had moved down the line to refresh the drinks of one of the off duty fire squads, Alan turned quietly to Carina and sighed before he engaged her verbally once again, "I really came off badly earlier didn't I?"

"Oh, so you do have some self awareness after all," Carina remarked as she finished off her drink. Alan gave her the stink eye before he finished off his second brew in one long pull. As he put the bottle down he turned to Carina again and looked her over, not with the eyes of a wolf but with the eyes of a man who had dated her for a month.

"Yes I'm very aware that I can come off as rude and crass to most people, but look here Carina; I'm not a predator, and I would never take advantage of anyone if I could help it, least of all a woman. A man is meant to respect and appreciate a woman, not to treat her like a trophy or something like that. Now I'm more honest then mo-." Carina eyed him evenly to make him rethink his words, "Alright, I admit that I'm more perverted then most guys, especially when I come across beautiful women."

"Although you do have good taste, I will concede that point to you." Carina poked at Alan, who blushes faintly before he responded.

"Look Carina, the point is this; I want to clear the air between us and move on amiably, and Arnold's right, arguing like this spoils even the best food or drinks," Alan held out a hand as he spoke, "So what do you think? Can we at least agree to not fight in the guild, and in public too if possible?" Carina thought for a few seconds, and then slowly she reached out and shook Alan's hand with a sigh of resignation.

"Very well, we can have peace in public," Alan smiled before she added one last stipulation, "but only if you pay for my dinner."

—

A/N: *Whew* Sorry for the wait, but here's the second chapter for the Twilight Brigade. Took me a little bit longer then I would have liked, but I wanted to get things rightly written in order to make sense for the readers and to generate as little work for my editor as possible. While I'm here, a quick shout out to Dreadburner94 for being a great beta and an ever willing sounding board for ideas. Also thanks for getting me into the fan fiction scene.

Before I forget a special thanks to the following people for their OCs:

Jack Ramona: Vaati Star

Alan Black: Malfel

Carina Aiza: Pine Swiftwings

Thank you for taking the time to write out characters and for your willingness to work with me. I hope I caught something of the characters you had in mind in this chapter.

On another note, and I can't believe it took me this long to realize it, I forgot two things to add to the character sheets: which hand is your character dominant with? And does your character use honorifics? The first one of these helps me a lot in establishing character moments and also getting their particular style and mannerisms down, while the second one is mostly fluff and for telling which part of this world the character is from.

Most characters in the setting use a western manner, such as Sir, Ma'am or Miss, while some such as Sana and others from what would be classified as the Eastern Territories, made up of the remains of Bosco or from the mobile Crimson District, would and will to an extent of the choice by their creators. Most of this is both attempt to foster a few differences and some extra diversity into the setting.

Other then that I think I've said all that needs to be said for now, other then that all of the characters from the first chapter are of my own creation. Which was why I didn't mention their creator last time, and because I forgot.

Anywho, hope you folks enjoy the newest chapter and please stay tuned for the next chapter.

P.S. If you need more information about the setting, I'll do my best to answer you via PM. But I;ll try to expand the world more as time goes on.

Now seriously, enjoy, and good night.


	3. Chapter 3: Heavy Duties

**Opening A/N** : Hello everyone, it's been awhile since we last met and for that I cannot offer anything really besides my honest apologies for those, if any are left, who waited. A year and change have passed since the last time I wrote anything for fanfiction, due to a combination of work getting harder and school becoming a part of life again unexpectedly; and for that I'm honestly not surprised; as writing was always something I failed to prioritize even in the best of times. But now I'm back, and ready to start outputting again; if only to keep my world from dropping back into a monochrome blur around me.

To those who waited, I'm back; and I have an important question to field to those who submitted characters: do you still want those who have not appeared yet used here, or do you want to withdraw? So far, I've managed to introduce three character submissions, and I would like to still use those. But to the rest of you folks who submitted I'm going to open a window for you to remove/revamp your character if you wish. Also, this serves doubly as a call for new OC submissions, as I need to finish shoring up the Guild's ranks. Don't be surprised if things change a little drastically this chapter, as I'm also back in the saddle with writing for the first time in a year, and I don't mean just fanfiction.

That being said, on to the new chapter!

~Sincerely, Azrael DarkWings.

* * *

Chapter 3: Heavy Duties

Old Magnolia District, Twilight Brigade Station, Guild's Residence Level

June 20, X162 N.R.Y., 6:00 AM

* * *

The predawn meeting with Aria had gone about as well as could be expected when the news of the auditors trip to the Guild had been pushed up from September to July, and Asher could still hear Aria's shrill anger as he made his way through the dimly lit corridors of the Guild Station's third underground level towards the Medical Ward.

"She almost seemed like she wanted to go renegade there for a bit, but I'm glad Arwyn was able to invoke Sariel's philosophy to stop her on that front," the Chief Maintenance Officer sighed as he rounded the last corner and reached for his I.D. badge stored away in his front breast pocket. "I don't know how I'd have been able to explain myself to our former leader if she had gone ahead and deserted her post."

Asher swiped his I.D. through the security reader affixed to the double blast doors that swung open slowly on hinges that creaked and groaned from neglect. The Medical Bay of the Brigade was easily the most advanced facility in the region, but due to the eccentric nature of the staff, the room was seldom used. Asher swept the room with an even look until he picked out the bare, ghostly white skinned form of a shoulder among a pile of discarded clothes and rapid-made meal containers.

"Wake up, Karina, you missed a meeting again and Aria almost blew a gasket over you this time." Asher stated harshly.

The shoulder shifted slightly at Asher's words, and then female figure rose from the refuse; almost like a parody of the Birth of Venus. A loose medical blanket clung desperately to her curvaceous body, and Asher averted his eyes and searched for anything even remotely suitable for the twenty-five year old woman to wear; or at least something to cover herself with so he could talk to her in a semi-nominal manner. Unfortunately for him Karina seemed to have other plans, as his ears picked up the sound of the blanket as it hit the floor, which caused him to quickly turn his back to Karina, who in an instant had a scalpel against his adam's apple.

"Looks like someone needs to go back to basic training," a cold, sing-song like voice playfully whispered into his ear. Asher resisted the urge to gulp as he felt the outline of Karina's large, full bust against his back before he composed himself to retort tritely.

"Please desist, Karina, and get yourself clothed please; I am NOT in the mood for something like this before the sun's even up." Asher said, frustration rising in his voice. As the pressure at his neck released, Asher allowed himself to slump forward and shifted his feet in order to rebalance himself. After a few moments of silence the Guild- Unit's Medical Officer cleared her throat to inform Asher that he could turn around now. As he did so Asher was struck for the umpteenth time about just how stunning a woman Karina von Reines could be, when she did have a deadly implement at his neck. Even though the younger woman was shorter then Asher's own five foot eleven by a good three inches in her bare feet, Karina von Reines was not a woman to be trifled with by any other being be they mortal or immortal.

A former member of Fiore's Special Investigation and Research Bureau of Supernatural-events, a group formed in response to the heightened number of bizarre and outright indiscernible magic related or caused events after the End War, Karina been 'shelved' away in the Twilight Brigade due to numerous unsanctioned actions she had taken in her search for answers during her tumultuous tenure with SIRBS. The young woman had at a pace that had been unstoppable due solely to the speed and systematic nature of her investigations deposed three council members of the reborn Magic Council due to a combination of corruption allegations and treason charges that had caused several critics of the non-magical majority in Fiore to call for the termination of the Magic Council entirely. It was only due to the very public and severe executions of the three Councilors and several of their staff members who had either been complacent in the dealings or had had a hand in the deals personally.

Afterword Karina had been shifted over to the Brigade in order to 'let things cool off' for an undisclosed period of time; where she had taken over dominion of the underground Medical Ward and the attached facilities.

Asher sized up Karina's mess, as the woman closed and buttoned a surprisingly clean white lab coat over a low necked, long-sleeved grey shirt and a pair of clean dark blue uniform pants with red double stripes up the legs. Her stocking-clad feet slid quickly into a pair of black leather boots, which she then sat down to buckle up. Apart from her golden blonde hair with dark blue streaks that emphasized her already impressive appearance, her bright golden bronze eyes added another layer of depth and an almost supernatural kind of intrigue to her. Asher shook his head in order to break the spell as Karina turned to him and offered a curt nod before she addressed him, "So, what brings you to my lair, Third Officer Beckett?" Asher grimaced at the formal title but responded evenly with the instructions that Aria had given him to pass on.

"Fourth Officer and Chief Medical-Engineer Karina von Reines, Guild Leader Aria S.A. Weissbach would be most grateful if you could go over the most recent reports concerning any and all cases in the last six months that involved extreme mutilation of the bodies of murder victims via magical means with signs of attempted, and most particularly with interest in the cases where it seems to have been successful, cranial, abdominal and chest extractions." responded in a rather rehearsed tone.

Karina's eye narrowed and the earlier playful air left her face as she moved forward as fluidly as water past Asher and out into the corridor beyond him towards the Guild's Record Repository on the floor beneath their current one. As she passed him, Asher added, "and if you can fit it into your schedule, our Leader would like you to prepare for the accelerated audit schedule by performing a complete test battery on every member that you access before the twenty-third of next month." A devilish smile played across Karina's face as she swiftly vanished into the bowels of the Guild-Unit's structure.

"Roger that, Ash." Asher shivered at the usage of his nickname as his guild's Anti-Personnel Specialist and Head Medical Officer Karina von Reines, nicknamed Death's Consort, went about her business with a quick and graceful gait.

* * *

Old Magnolia, Blue Acres Farming District.

June 20, X162 N.R.Y., 9:00 P.M.

* * *

The sun had just begun to near the top of Mt. Hakobe as Myst du Neight touched down just inside of the barred gates that lead out and into the wasted region beyond the defensive perimeter of the Blue Acres farming district. The green haired, slightly build youth stretched in order to relieve the tension built up by the flight from the ruins of Rosewood, an attempted farming community outside of the boundaries of Magnolia's artificial Magic Transfer and Communications Grid, nicknamed the Leyline Network by the kingdoms citizens.

Constructed as a dual measure to assist in city/town planning and as well as to serve as a means for near instant communications and power delivery between the major cities and towns in the kingdom, as well as the most foundational part of the people's defensive system, Leyline Network was a government operated system which had been established by the Mage-King after the Second Invasion of Fiore. The Network delivered information and energy to any area within the the series of interconnected circles and array built into the foundations of the city or town it was a part of. The system was heavily guarded by the Royal Ministry of the Interior as a means to keep rich private individuals and other less savory characters from a monopoly that instead served the needs of the people; a small win in most people's books, as the private sector still controlled the food and raw materials market with an iron fist.

Myst had been given the monotonous task to search the ruins for any signs of bandits or any other malcontents who might cause trouble too close to home for the Brigade. As the Guild's Second Officer, ranked beneath Arwyn and above Asher and Karina, the young mage was only twenty-five years old and cut a rather odd figure next to the other four members of the Unit's leadership. The reason was the same as the reason that a sharp wolf whistle rang out as a small group of roughly clothed men surrounded the young mage, which caused a sigh to escape Myst's lips.

"Okay boys, what is it?" The men snickered as the largest of their number came and stood in front of Myst as his small, piggish eyes took in every inch of Myst's face.

"Do you even have to ask, cutie?" He gestured to the rest of his group, as a few stragglers filtered into their number, both men and women. "We couldn't help but notice a pretty thing like you come up and over our walls before the Barrier Array went up. We can't have just anyone skip over the important process of clearing security now can we?" The green haired mage fixed the ruffian with a measured look of boredom and annoyance, as the man continued, "But we're all decent, hard working folks here, so we thought that if you paid us a with a little something nice we could all go on with our-GHURRK!?"

The big man's words were cut off as Myst drove a knee into his groin and then followed up with a savage headbutt that sprawled the man out in the dusty roadway with a few broken teeth for good measure. The rest of the group went for their weapons, only to hear the sounds of numerous rifles and sidearms cock all around them.

"Took you long enough, Reeves," Myst airily said as a six foot tall, weather tanned man in a dark blue uniform with green trim stepped out of the shadows of the gatehouse with a tired but rakish grin on his whiskered face.

"No, Neight-kun, I needed some plausible eventide before I could step in, due to the fact that Judge Hammerheim refuses to put any trial into the docker without evidence." The eyes of the ruffians, and some of the newer soldiers of the post bugged at the usage of 'kun' by their C.O. The ruffian in need of major dental work pulled himself up and stared hard at Myst's face and figure in shock.

"How in the blazes are you a man?!" The question on everyone's minds asked, Myst's face split into devilishly playful grin as he curtsied and then performed a quick spin turn as he closed the gap between himself and the larger man in an instant and got right up and close to his face.

"Because some of us are born with an absolutely absurd level of entirely unnecessary favor from the powers that be," he said in a sing song manner as he hoisted the larger man up with one hand and back to his feet, "And so we must make use of what we are given in order to do justice to those who received far less then us." The effeminate young mage then turned on a dime and breezed past Reeves and into the guardhouse with only a sharp sentence of, "A hot shower and a decent meal when I'm done with it Reeves, I haven't seen a fork in a week."

John Reeves chuckled as the motley crew was collected by his troops as he walked over to the low roofed mess hall attached to the perimeter wall and wrapped heavily on one of the side doors with crisp tattoo. A slot at about his eye level opened and the warm, bright green eyes of his wife peered into his own dark brown orbs. "As good a meal as you can make Claressa, Myst-kun is back." Claressa wordlessly nodded as a smile played around the corners of her mouth. "Oh, and see if you can find him a spare male uniform to wear, his gear is going to need some repairs from the sound of it."

* * *

An hour and a half later found Myst seated with Garret Reeves as he hungrily tore into a hearty portion of bear meat and a loaf of black bread. His earlier combat-recon equipment, a standard Dragoon-type breastplate, spaulders, vambraces and greaves of a dulled blue color worn over a neutral grey uniform kit, had been replaced by a pair of camouflage patterned, dark green fatigue pants, a white under shirt and a billed cap under which his green and blond hair was pulled. Around his neck were strung his dog tags and guild badge, while his feet were covered with a pair of too large boots that were untied. Garret sighed as Myst's slender, 5'4" frame packed away his second helping with ease. "Honestly Myst, have you ever considered getting yourself a proper men's uniform? With your looks and manner, I'm not surprised that with that gear of yours most people are not expecting a man." Myst shook his head negatively and washed down the last of his meal with a long drink of water before he responded to Reeves.

"I enjoy the looks on people's faces when they are either told or, the few times it had occurred, when they figure out my gender for themselves. It's half of the fun that gets me through the day."

Garret grunted through a laugh before he retorted sardonically, "So why was it again a year and a half ago that when I busted that human trafficking ring that you were dressed as-" Myst's hands shot across the table like lightening and stuffed a large chunk of potato into Garret's mouth before he could finish his words.

"Don't you dare say another word about that when Claressa's in hearing range, lest I silence you," the words were spoken in a mock serious tone, as Myst's fingers played with his silverware in a dangerous manner. Garret gulped hard and took a big drink of his watered down beer before he smiled back at the young man before him whose face had taken on a dangerously feminine pout.

"Don't be like that Myst-kun, you know Claressa would never spread that kind of a story around, she adores you after you save me two years ago, and besides" he finished off his beer with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of other stories around about you then that one, accurate or not. Want me to name a few?" The look in Myst's eyes harshly confirmed a no, but before he could voice his opinion Claressa returned with a tray upon which rested two containers of chocolate and vanilla pudding. The twenty-eight year old woman's delicate, doll like frame was dressed in a simple dark green dress with a clean white apron tied around it. A smile played on her lips as she neared her husband and Myst.

Garret raised an eyebrow as she placed one of the two dishes in front of him and then other in front of Myst. "Where did you forage the ingredients for this Claressa? I didn't think that we even had sugar left, let alone any mil-" Garret's words were cut off as Claressa planted a spoonful of pudding into his unguarded mouth, and he was silenced as a sweet, cool sensation danced across his tongue. Across the table, Myst gave the couple a grin as he savored his own portion happily.

"You lovebirds want some privacy? I had planned to stay the night here and then make my way back to the Guild in the morning." Claressa shook her head and motioned towards the officer's quarters located next to the mess halls, her implied meaning firmly understood by both men. "Okay okay, if only to not shun your hospitality, Ressa," Myst sighed as he rose, collected his dishes and made his way towards the warm, fresh bed he knew that Claressa had somehow managed to keep ready for him, as she always did when he returned from his patrol duties.

Back in X160 Myst had been sent out to check up on an overdue patrol which had been last sighted two days prior several miles north and west from the ruins of the Rosewood Independent farming project. At the time only twenty-three years old, Myst had inherited the position of Second Officer from his successor largely due to a group of higher ups who wanted a close set of eyes and ears on the actions of Aria Weissbach and her anomalous First Officer Arwyn Karengard. Although he had expected a cold shoulder from the Leader and her Second, he had instead been welcomed as a perfect compliment to their close and medium range fighters with his unique brand of Soul Link Magic. Via his Magic, Myst could borrow the abilities of magic beasts he formed particularly strong bonds with, such as their sense or even their physical abilities. As such, he perfectly fit into the open position within the Ranked Officers and Leader formation as their Ranger, a member capable of quick, decisive actions and escapes.

With his unique set of skills, Myst managed to locate Garret Reeve's platoon and rescued them from a particularly nasty firefight which had cost Garret his original left leg and five other men their lives. In the aftermath, Garret had struck up a friendship with the carefree Myst, who had also in turn grown attached to Garret's wife Claressa like an older sister. And so Myst, the outsider/watchdog from Central, had gained a place to call home and had settled down in Blue Acres as a satellite member of the Guild who reported back to Aria on a bi-monthly basis. The arrangement allowed Myst to maintain an illusion of loyalty to the Council members who had placed him into the Guild, as well as a measure of privacy that brought a welcome peace to the young man's heart.

As he lay in bed and allowed sleep to close in on his mind, Myst noticed a warm, faint presence at the door to the room and allowed himself a smile as he quietly called out, "Goodnight, Ressa" as he slipped into a calm, dreamless slumber. From her place at the door, Claressa Reeves' warm green eyes took in one last check of the young man who had become like a little brother to her and her husband over the past years before she closed the door and turned on silent feet towards her and Garret's room for the night. Although regulations kept them in separate beds when Garret was on duty, Claressa knew that he had a two month leave lined up to celebrate their marriage in two weeks to look forward to.

As a faint blush spread across her cheeks the young woman turned the last corner and arrived at the door to her room. After a short pause to collect herself, Claressa entered the room, noted Garret's sleeping form and crawled into her own bed after she had planted a soft kiss on her husband's lips. Then she fell asleep quickly herself, as to wake up early to make breakfast for the garrison in the morning.

* * *

Sorry if this feels short after so long, but I really wanted to get something decent out ASAP, lest I got buried again by life. A big thanks to my old Beta, Dreadburner94 for being willing to check this mess over and give me some directions to work with. I promise that the next chapter will be longer, but will most likely not be up until next month due to Thanksgiving.

Anywho, thanks for the reads, sorry for the wait; and I'm back. See you next time.

~Sincerely, Azrael DarkWings.


	4. Chapter 4: Stirrings in the Dark

A/N: Hello everyone, Azrael here. Sorry it's been a few weeks, but a combination of early work hours and finals has been an agonizing drain on my mental and physical stamina. But I'm now done with school until next semester and I expect that I'm now going to be able to get a chapter or two done this month, longer ones hopefully. Besides that a few new characters have filtered their way into the guild's ranks, and Now I'm closer to the halfway point of character acceptations, so if you have a character you want to send in either reserve a spot or send them on in. All needed information should be on my profile page, and if it isn't I'm open to play message tag to clear thing up. Anywho, on to the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4: Stirrings in the Dark

* * *

June 23, X162 N.R.Y. 10:36 p.m.

Ebon Cabal Field Office, Scourgestone, Old Bosco region

* * *

The Ebon Cabal had been the first unified Guild formed under the auspices of a small group of former nobles and upper class members of Bosco's merchant and military classes. Originally intended for the reformation of their old kingdom under their rule, the aristocrats and their scions had instead been either eliminated or assimilated into a shadowy organization that had managed to clear the war with enough assets to topple them with the ease of a parent lifting an infant. Unnamed and unrecorded within the annals of history and the mind of people, the Cabal had been formed by the same organization from the noble scions who had offered up their family names and what little authority they had left in exchange for material pleasure, as well as a cadre of their own, manically unscrupulous scientists and ambitious magicians who then exponentially expanded their numbers and resources via any and all means available to them. It was the Cabal who fanned the flames of desire within the ragtag bandits and scattered magicians who had launched both the First and Second Invasions of Fiore, and it was also they and their cohorts who had gathered up the survivors and then converted them into elements of even grander machinations.

Then after the events of the Second Invasion, the Cabal had stepped back into the shadows and hoisted forward a puppet leader for the rebuilt Bosco Federation. With a hand at the throat and pulse of their newly acquired home territory, the Cabal had proceeded to set up an extensive presence within the wider Bosco government and also the higher echelons of commerce. As a part of that, the group laid out a scattered collection of back alley bars and out of the way hideaways in order to conduct their business with a minimal profile; an open secret to anyone, but only usable by those of means.

The Cabal's Scourgestone office, nestled in the rear of a small bar known as the Black Cat, had been among the first of the offices made at that time, and enjoyed the added benefit of a stones throw proximity from the main seat of Bosco's oligarchy styled government, the High Castle, but also only a half hours walk would take anyone interested right over to the Scourgestone Stock Exchange, where many would-be entrepreneurs threw their hats into the financial ring in both honest and conniving attempts at securing great wealth for themselves.

But today, instead of any advances with his modest portfolio or priming of the pumps, James Clangdorn found himself seated at a small corner booth within the Cabal's inner office, and he could not shake the feeling of dread that gripped his fearful heart. A young man of only twenty-two, James was a middle grade manager for a modestly sized supply company that ferried much needed supplies such as food, water and munitions between Bosco's Mage Guilds and military outposts.

The sandy blond haired young man had learned early on to keep to himself and simply do as he was told, lest anyone with any kind of higher connection take insult to him, or possibly even worse; interest in him. He had graduated from a preparatory business school that had then shifted him into the workforce at only eighteen years of age, where he had lucked into his current managerial position where the former job holder vanished without a trace. The rumor around the offices for the next few months had ranged from a midnight escape over the border and into Fiore controlled territories to the most widely accepted death via some internal purge at the hands of a secretive government unit.

What ever the reason might have been, James had readily accepted the open position in order to better his life perspectives; the raise in pay meant he could afford to move up to a larger apartment in Scourgestone proper, and he could finally afford to get himself a new suit that was not second hand or pieced together from multiple sources. His meals and health had improved remarkably, and he had even been able to begin building his savings. But then he had happened to pick up a packet of papers that had just so happened to be labeled far and away above his pay grade, and now here he was, afraid that he too would now vanish into the belly of the beast like his predecessor had, or so he believed. Suddenly a warm, soft sensation pierced through his thoughts and fears, as his nose was tickled by the smell of roses, which caused him to snap his attention back to reality painfully.

"Easy their young man, you almost planted your face into a pay wall you are most certainly unable to scale," he heard a voice call out to him. James realized that while he had stewed deep in his own emotions and fearful thoughts that a man and a woman had come over to his table. He quickly preformed a gesture with his head and responded slightly mechanically, "I'm sorry, I was so deep in my own thoughts that I did not notice your aproa-" James' words failed him as he took in the woman of the pair, whose fair skinned body was dressed in a dark purple evening gown that left her shoulders and arms uncovered. The high slit of her dress also didn't help matters, as James felt his graze gravitate almost naturally towards the ghostly white skin that peeked out from it with the subtle movements of the woman.

As James attempted to speak once again, the man of the pair laid a hand on his shoulder and then proceeded to smack it playfully as he belly laughed, "It's okay, young man, our Queen has that kind of effect on most people the first time they meet her." James felt his entire body shudder as the eight foot tall, heavily muscled man's hand smacked him heartily on the shoulder, and he counted his lucky stars that the pair seemed friendly enough; or at least so it seemed at the moment. The tall man's frame seemed poorly matched with his highly expensive suit, which strained to keep its shape tight to the well defined, almost sculpted flesh of his shoulders and back. James also noted that the man's hands were heavily calloused and bore the marks of old burn scars that looked like they should have debilitated the man. Beyond that James noted the taller man's hair was of a dark chestnut color and fell to just beneath his solid, square chin, which severed to frame his large, bright green eyes which rested on either side of his large, aquiline nose.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, James Clangdorn-kun, I am Kiyomi Hayabusa, the Second Officer of the Ebon Cabal, and your hostess for this first meeting." The woman's voice broke into James' thought gently, and he found himself drawn into her deep, violet colored eyes as if drawn in by magic. Now that he could give her a closer look, he was struck by the otherworldly perfect proportions of Kiyomi's face and figure. From her long black hair which cascaded down her back and framed a sensual face with full lips, a duchess nose and her dark violet colored eyes. Beyond that her figure lacked nothing as far as James could detect, and he prided himself with his ability to see through the things that most people would rather keep hidden, from a leg weakened by disease to a woman who had attempted to use magic to hide an artificial leg.

"And mine truly as well, Miss Hayabusa," James returned cordially, as he took the hand she offered him and kissed the back of it. Then he turned and offered his own hand to the giant of a man who accompanied Hayabusa and asked politely, "And who might you be sir?" The giant grinned broadly as he took and shook James' hand hard enough to make the smaller man wince in pain.

"I am Lazarus Hawthorne, the Third Officer of the Ebon Cabal, and acting Field Director as of the moment." James gulped audibly as the man revealed a big toothy grin, "Nice to meet you as well, young man." The big man's easy mannerisms calmed James' troubled mind, and he relaxed somewhat, as Kiyomi motioned to the bartender to bring something to the table. James followed the bartender's movements as he ducked low in order to retrieve something from behind the counter, a move that caused James to tense up once more. Yet as he did so, Kiyomi sat down beside him and gently touched his shoulder with one of her gloved hands. James turned to Kiyomi as she did so and she offered him a seductive smile that quickened his paused and caused a faint blush to color his cheeks. "Looks like you've been smitten there, young man," Lazarus chuckled as he smoothly sat himself down on the opposite bench of James and Kiyomi's, "But be careful, many a man has attempted to woo our Queen and have found themselves without even a single copper to their name over her affections." He cast a sidelong glance towards some of the other patrons as he continued, "And some of those same men, and women in some cases, swore to keep anyone else from laying a hand on her, am I right?"

"You said it and not us, Lazarus," a man in a charcoal grey suit rumbled in response, as he turned from his drink and fixed James with a dry, even look. "You'd better be careful now, boy," the older man shifted his eyes over to Kiyomi and contemplated her figure for only an instant before he continued, "As the old saying goes, every rose has its thorn." He smiled at Kiyomi, then stood up and collected his suit coat and exited the room with a quick, measured stride. James noted that Lazarus had watched the man from the moment his eyes had locked onto Kiyomi until the moment after the doors to the outside world had closed once more. Then the giant turned back to James and he smiled once again.

"Wise words from our Minister of Foreign Affairs, especially after he had to spend the last four weeks kissing up to the delegates from the Desierto Oligarchy." James choked on his drink and started to cough uncontrollably until Lazarus smacked him heavily on the back. "You okay there, young man?"

"Are you sure it's fine for someone like me to hear those words?!" James squawked as his prior fear returned with a vengeance, and his palms began to sweat. His heart began to beat in his ears, and his vision started to tunnel as he mentally ran through his hastily devised escape plan, before once again Kiyomi laid a hand on his cheek, this time it smelled faintly of lavender.

"Please calm yourself, James-kun, you will only hurt yourself if you keep up this level of tension," Kiyomi motioned over to the bartender, who ducked underneath the main bar and then reappeared a few moments later with a dark green bottle in one hand and a trio of wineglasses in the other. He made his way over to the table and placed the glasses in front of Kiyomi, and then removed the cork from the bottle and poured out three equal servings of a dark red liquid. Lazarus picked up one of the with a level of gentleness that surprised James, but then that thought was waylaid as Kiyomi took the other two glasses and offered one ho him with a gentle smile. "You have nothing to fear from us, as we were charged to help induct you into the Cabal's ranks."

The bombshell that Kiyomi's words represented caused James' mind to freeze up entirely, and his mouth fell open in shock as he babbled, "that can't be. I'm just a middle tier worker at a middle grade shipping firm. Why would I of all people be-" Kiyomi silently put the glass into James' hand and moved back to her own glass with a quiet chuckle.

"Because you happened to see a folder that held vital information for one of our less then acceptable to the general population's sense of decency, and which also detailed quite thoroughly some of our operative's highly illegal actions against the Kingdom of Fiore; whether we like it or not. You either have a great deal of misfortune following you, or maybe the devil's own luck; which ever it may be, our Guild-Leader wanted to utilize you as a member of our assets, rather then as a wildcard we would have to worry about at any given moment." Kiyomi held her glass towards James and cocked her head to one side and closed her eyes, as she pushed her chest upwards and towards him playfully, "So how about instead of worrying your pretty head over what might happen tomorrow, why not enjoy this moment with me and live a little, James-kun?" The words and actions Kiyomi offered were too good to be true to James, but he accepted them begrudgingly and clinked his glass against her's, which caused Kiyomi to open her violet eyes once again.

"A toast to the moment," James said, as he took a long drink of the dark red liquid that filled his glass.

* * *

"And a moment of silence for the young man who will be joining the Cabal's ranks, but as the lowest of Tactical Trooper fodder," Lazarus chuckled as Kiyomi fixed him with a gaze that would have withered most other men. Lazarus sighed and offered Kiyomi a mock look of apology as the two made their way through the bowels of the Cabal's extensive, underground Guild complex.

Carved out of the bedrock beneath Scourgestone at the beginning of the Cabal's formation, partially under the cover of a public works project in order to make Scourgestone a more habitable place to build a city, the complex had been one of the first permanent bases completed by the Cabal. The complex housed a large portion of the Guild's Western Operations Group senior leadership; and also housed the Second Laboratory and Third Warehouse, with the Lab's purpose being to develop the Guild's mass production-class equipment and autonomous combat units, and the Warehouse had been established several years after a massive raid had destroyed the Second Warehouse along with the largest stockpile of illicit arms and munitions the Guild had controlled.

Seven Fiore based Guild-Units had been fingered for the destruction, but no eye witnesses had survived the attack and no concrete evidence could be established; beyond that the Warehouse had housed arms that no one had been willing to take the fall for, so the incident had been chalked up externally as a freak accident, while internally the Fiore armed forces and Guilds had marked it off as the biggest win they could muster against the heavily entrenched members of the Cabal. After that, the Second Lab and Third Warehouse had been officially established and promptly equipped to deal with any opponent short of an all out assault by divine or demonic forces.

It was within the serpentine corridors and darkened rooms of the complex that the unconscious form of James' Clangdorn had been brought, to be converted into a Simulacrum Magic Soldier, an artificial, expendable mage wielding autonomous unit based on the salvaged designs of the Fourth Generation Dragon Slayers that would most certainly be destroyed during the first operation he would be deployed too. Kiyomi sighed as she walked beside the overly cheerful Lazarus through a series of security gates that closed seamlessly and ominously behind them. "I honestly do feel something for those poor fools who get toyed with by the whims of fate, I have stopped counting how many we released over to the Conversion Unit during the past two months." Lazarus cocked an eyebrow at Kiyomi as he weighed her words in a half solemn and half playful state of mind.

"Seventeen, if you count young James. Thirteen men and four women, to be exact." Kiyomi offered Lazarus a surprised look as he offered her a hand up and into the enclosed body of one of the complex's linear/lateral transport vehicles, nicknames rocket tubes by the Guild's foot soldiers.

"I am amazed that someone like you would bother with that kind of detail, Lazarus, I thought you were the kind of man who could care less about such things." Lazarus laughed with his deep baritone and he punched in a series of coordinates into the rocket tube's terminal before he turned back to Kiyomi and countered her statement.

"Are you sure that you didn't stop counting because the number was so small in comparison to your previous body counts, Queen?" The question hung in the air between them as the two strapped themselves into their seats, and then just as the rocket body locked up and the tube pressurized, Kiyomi offered Lazarus the kind of cold, calculated smile that Lazarus knew belonged to his own kind; the monsters who were once human.

"I do not know, and I cannot even make myself care enough to find out, Rook." Then with only the faintest of shudders the tube rocketed the two Ranked Officers off to their next destination; the Officer's Meeting hall, where their most twisted and powerful compatriots awaited their arrival.

* * *

June 24, X162 N.R.Y. 1:45 a.m.  
Galuna Island Fortifications and Weather Station, Fiore De jure Territory.

* * *

Galuna Island had at one time been the home to a race of peaceful Demons, but those days ended when the End War began. After the End War ignited, the tensions and hostilities that had surrounded the original inhabitants of the island caused many of them to either flee to safety or lose their lives in the war. When the First Mage King of Fiore had begun his efforts to reestablish the outer reaches of the Kingdom's influence, his eyes had been drawn to the island where in the past a tribe of friendly demon folk had lived, and which already boasted a tunnel system that could accommodate a modest garrison.

So the King deployed a brigade of regular soldiers 3000 men strong, along with a support contingent of magicians and technicians to set up proper fortifications for the troops. Over the course of the next four years, the Galuna Island Station had been developed and then expanded until it became the most successful and well defended satellite operation deployed by Fiore's Military Command. The duties of the station mainly revolved around the maintenance of the Island's weather monitor systems and also as a listening post towards the Minstrel and Bosco via sea. As the years went by, the station had its staffing reduced down to only a token force by X150, when the final reduction of staff and the redeployment of forces left the station with only a hundred regular staff members and soldiers, enough to be classified as a Company, but only just.

"I can't believe that I got assigned out here in this backwater post! It is beneath my achievements and status to be in a place like this!" The words were punctuated by a heavy blow as the Station's Commanding Officer, Captain Isaac Landover, slammed his fist against the top of his mahogany, paper laden desk. His second in command, Lieutenant Franz Koffman, wearily moved to collect the files and papers which his commander had spread across the floor, but a sharp grunt from Landover stopped him short. "Leave that trash where it lies, Koffman, it's not like any of it matters anyways." Koffman nodded as he stood back up and moved back to his place beside the door to the Captain's office, one of the only clean and fully functional rooms in the entire base compound due to budget cuts.

Landover had graduated in the middle of his class at the Royal Militarty College in Crocus, where he had excelled only in his efforts at living a life far removed from the dreary life he currently led. He had dreamed of a steady position in the Capital, but a few indiscretions had rendered him 'unfit' for duty there, and he had subsequently been shipped out to Galuna Island, where his pay was slightly higher and the work easier; but he was not allowed to leave the island until he finished his term of duty. "A blessing I guess that the girl's father didn't push any farther then this, other wise it could have meant prison or exile," Isaac grumbled as he poured himself another glass of cheap wine and drank deeply. Koffman fixed his commander with a tired look and sighed. A man of no social standing, he quietly did as he was told and supported Landover as best he could, while he also steered him away from anymore mistakes that would caused the utter end of Isaac, and the lose of his own retirement benefits.

At least let me make things look somewhat nice, sir," Koffman asked diplomatically, "Otherwise the inspector might send a report back to High Command and your watch will be made heavier." Landover glared at Koffman with his seedy brown eyes and clicked his tobacco stained teeth with his tongue in irritation.

"Okay, Lieutenant, go ahead if you must." With an inner sigh of relief, Franz moved to collect the papers and folder that had fallen to the floor in the midst of Landover's tantrum. But as he did so a commotion erupted outside the doors of the office, which caused both men to snap their eyes up to the sounds of confusion, anger and then gun fire. With nary a beat between them, Isaac reached under his desk and pressed a switch that was connected to the base's communications array that began a series of quick, short signals that would alert the main land that something was amiss. The two men then moved to army themselves as a series of explosions shook the room they were, and caused dust to trickle from the ceiling. As Franz moved behind the desk and covered the doorway, Isaac quickly moved to one of the cabinets against the wall of his office and punched a series fo numbers into the keypad on its side, which caused a section of the cabinet to retract and reveal a bright red magic transmission box. Isaac wordlessly fumbled with his badge card as he swiped it down the side reader and then pressed the only button on the console.

"Fioran Eastern Command Hotline, identification number please." The voice on the other side of the box sounded young, and Isaac angrily turned his card around in order to quickly read off the number which he had not bothered to even once over the course of his twenty-two month stay on the island memorize. As he did so, the doors to the office slammed open to reveal a pair of darkly clothed figures which toted magically augmented heavy machine guns. Koffman opened fire with his own magic rifle, as he aimed for the heads of the two figures.

"Guns Magic: Piercing Shot!" The dark green magic circle instantly appeared over the mouth of Franz's weapon as he opened up of the two figures, the left most of which crumpled as two of his blasts vaporized the figure's head into a cloud of black soot. As Franz pivoted to the second figure he shouted out his second spell, as he watched the heavily machine gun rise to the black clad figure's hip height, "Guns Magic: Burstshot!" As he fired, the figure returned in suit with a volley of dark red magically enhanced bullets that ripped through the heavy wooden desk before it like a hot knife through butter. The last thing Franz saw was his own blood at the rounds torn through his chest and ended his life. But his own dark green shots found their mark and he noted with satisfaction that the dark clothed figure staggered backwards and then collapses as the same black soot like stuff from earlier rose from its chest. He smiled, and then passed on.

Isaac heard the shots fired behind him as he tried to enter in his pass number, but the doubled over in pain as he felt a section of his desk drive into his shoulder from behind. He cried out in pain and crumpled to the floor in a ball, as another shot just passed by his head on the way down and blew apart the emergency transmitter. As the dust settled, Isaac heard the sound of boots as they crunched into his office over the remnants of his desk and the door. He tried to steel himself against the pain, but a wave of red flooded his consciousness and his strength failed him. suddenly two pairs of hands locked onto his shoulders, and callously ignored the section of wood in his back as they did so, and pulled him to his knees. "Well well, what do we have here?" The voice was sharp and crisp, like an arctic blizzard. As Isaac's eyes struggled to focus, the form of a white clothed figure filled his vision. Isaac could not place the man's age, but guessed him to be somewhere in his thirties, with a head of long, dark purple hair that fell to the man's shoulders in a cascade that gave him an excessively well groomed appearance. But the feature that terrified Isaac the most were the man's bright golden eyes, a pair of golden orbs that seemed to pierce right into his soul.

"A proud, if somewhat injured, member of the Fioran Armed Forces sir." A metallic voice echoed from the trooper on Isaac's right shoulder, who smelled of burnt oil and blood. Isaac's eyes took in the sight before him and he attempted to struggle free of his captors, who merely tightened their grip until it felt like his arms were about to be pinched off. He opened his mouth to try and talk to the man before him, but a white gloved hand instead shot forward and clamped onto his face with a grip easily the equal of the two that held his pained shoulders high.

"From the looks of things, he tried to send an SOS to the main land, and unfortunately for us he managed it, well that royally throws a wrench in the boss' plans for this dump." Isaac felt a sharp, whip-like blow that cracked into his hip and sent a burst of pain up through his back as the man kicked him in a motion that he could not follow. Isaac groaned into the gloved hand and tried to pull his head free, but the hand that held his mouth and jaw remained as secure as an iron padlock. "I guess we'll just have to leave the actual inspection team a little present for when they get here tomorrow, won't we?"

The question hung in the air, and then all of the soldiers around Isaac and the man and white chorused their answer in an almost identical, and nearly demonic sounding choir of, "Yessir!" Then the man released Isaac's face and conjured a purple and black magic circle that smelled like death, which caused Isaac to immediately vomit up his late dinner that he had shared with Franz only thirty minutes prior. After he had done so, Isaac raised his head and fixed the golden eyed man with as angry and defiant a look as he could and spat at him with contempt.

"Enjoy what little time you have left, you scum. The Inspector for this area is a former member of the Rune Knight's and is always accompanied by at least a platoon of the finest active members from Hargeon's local branch!" He turned his eyes to the soldiers around him how seemed nonplussed by his words and continued, "They always hail us as they near the island, and unless I prove that the landing is safe they will immediately fall back to Hargeon and then return with a squadron of fulled locked and loaded marine's and army magicians at their disposal." A grin broke across his face as he turned himself to look at the golden eyed man to finish, "so eat, sleep and drink to our hearts content, for within the week the lot of you will have been either hanged or-guhuhahulk!?"

"Shut your fat mouth piggie, your breath smells horrific!" The golden eyed man in white had rammed his gloved hand up against Isaac's face once again, but this time a torrent of oily black and purple magic was forced down his throat for good measure. Isaac attempted to struggle, but the pain that burned through out his body soon caused his consciousness to grow dim. As his strength failed and his body grew limp, the pain in his shoulder seemed to go away; and soon a feeling of deep, painful hunger took its place. Soon afterwards Isaac's mind was destroyed by the ichor-like magic that coursed through his body like a wildfire after a drought. His skin turned a pasty white, and his veins became like a black spiderweb that covered the surface of his skin. His eyes, which had rolled back into his head, turned a dull red color as saliva bubbled to the corners of his mouth. Then Isaac's body shuddered and pulled itself to its feet with an airy, guttural moan of hunger; which prompted the white clothed man to cackle with laughter, "Now that suits you pretty well, you go ahead and join the rest of your 'men' who are preparing for your Inspection Detail?" The former body of Isaac stumbled through the shattered door frame and towards the place where the smell of meat was the strongest. The white clothed man snapped the middle finger and thumb of the hand that had touched Isaac, which caused his glove to vanish with a puff of purple smoke that smelled strongly of brimstone.

"Already done in there already Grimshaw?" The golden eyed man turned and offered the figure in the doorway a sharp salute before he responded affirmatively with a quick node of his head. "Good, now we've got a few good hours to prepare the Inspection Detail's welcoming party and also find those records we need down in the archives, and I can guess where you want to go."

"Yessir, I'd love nothing more then to prepare an absolutely delightful welcome for those Fioran pigs. I do hope you will allow me the distinguished privilege of doing so." The figure smiled, which revealed a mouth full of perfectly straight and cleaned pearly white teeth. Grimshaw offered a similar smile in turn and then moved past his superior, who vanished in a flash of purple and green light. "I'll make sure that the Inspector joins his colleagues that have already been gathered together for the experiment on the training grounds."

* * *

Closing A/N: Whew. Made it before the end of the month, year and decade. *Collapses into a heap on bed* After this, it is time for me to sleep. I'm writing this bit now right after my job at a certain business that leaves me tired every day, but I digress. Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night.

Anywho, thanks for giving my newest chapter a spin. I hope you enjoyed it. Now for a quick list of announcements.

1\. OC slots are still open, with two of them being S-Class.

2\. If you have not contacted my at this point about a previously sent character, I'll try to forage ahead as is.

3\. Villain OC slots will being opening after the next few chapters, along with more information on the state of the Kingdom and general information on some of the big names.

Good night, everyone, and have a good new year.

Regards, Azrael DarkWings


End file.
